The Sun God put on a stern face.
He wasn't just anybody.
"Just kidding, just kidding, please don't be angry." The Fierce Goddess felt the light in her father's eyes, as if he was about to give her a real fatherly slap. She quickly took a few steps back, smiling awkwardly and trying to say something nice. As a goddess, of course, she understood the matters of life and death reincarnation.
"So, when you struck him back then, intending to read his soul, was it not only because he had made a contract with me but also because he had broken your curse?"
She asked, a bit surprised.
The Sun God nodded.
The Fierce Goddess pondered, connecting the clues.
"I thought he was just a favorite of destiny..." The Sun God's voice carried a hint of fear as he couldn't help but raise his hand to feel his now healed eyes.
"I should have foreseen it, but arrogance blinded me. This might be the beginning of the dusk."
While he was muttering this.
The Fierce Goddess frowned and continued asking.
"You've said so much, but I still don't understand why you and other gods would allow the temple of destiny to exist." She found it hard to believe that such permission was only because the temple was related to destiny. After all, the temple's existence involved faith, just as humanity involves money, and divine spirits seldom want to share their faith with others.
Faced with his dimwitted daughter, the Sun God was indeed somewhat powerless.
"Of course, it's because a consensus was reached."
He sighed, not attempting to enlighten his daughter any further, and straightforwardly gave an answer, "So that in the final chapter of that dusk, destiny could timely weave a hope for us."
"It's a transaction, my child." The Sun God revealed the secret between the gods and the elder gods. However, he did not disclose what they had to sacrifice in this transaction.
Yet.
The Fierce Goddess had her own thoughts.
"Is this the price?"
She raised her hand, revealing the eternal contract that did not disappear even after Ian left, as if it became some kind of "future" here.
"No, it is a gain."
The Sun God replied with an indifferent tone, providing a completely opposite response.
This left the Fierce Goddess completely bewildered.
She suspected that her father not only burned his eyes yesterday but also his brain.
A millennia-long work contract isn't a price but a gain?
Even slave masters wouldn't say such a thing!
"I didn't even ask the name of the one I am to serve, oh right, he didn't ask for my name either." The Fierce Goddess had a somewhat sour tone.
And at this moment.
"Medivh, my lord, my divine spirit once told me his name, and I believe we should remember it." The little girl, Cassandra, suddenly stood up after finishing her chant.
She turned around and spoke seriously—sometimes, the opening of a story is just so coincidental, and perhaps Ian didn't even realize that the legend of the Supreme Mage had begun.
The ancient city of Pompeii was still flourishing.
Among it.
A few would remember his story.
...
In the time passage.
The immense power of time seemed to transform into a train.
It carried Ian, Malfoy, and Riddle heading towards the future. Ian and Riddle only felt a warm and irresistible force tightly enveloping them.
As if they were in the palm of an invisible giant beast.
To this.
The disheartened, silent Riddle merely sighed softly. Meanwhile, the curious little wizard observed his surroundings, finding a different feeling during this journey through the ages.
The last crossing, Ian only felt an endless intertwining whirlpool around him, his body apparently pulled by countless hands, dizziness and confusion filled his senses, as if in a never-ending nightmare. But this time, as soon as he stepped into the time passage, a peculiar tranquility washed over him.
Perhaps this is the treatment of a legend.
He finally experienced the real pleasure of traveling through time. Malfoy's pale face rested on his shoulder, and Riddle, wrapped up like a cocoon under magic chains, exuded a rotten wood-like aura.
Countless light spots lit up in the void, the torrent of time flowing past him, carrying an ancient and mysterious whisper, yet gentle like the wind brushing wheat.
"This is truly amazing."
Ian looked around.
Wherever his gaze reached.
The time spots would gather into solid images.
They were not mere possibilities.
But the history passing by their side.
This time, not only did Ian feel the chaos of intertwined time and space, but he also seemed to be given a pair of eyes to observe history, witnessing scenes as clear as paintings with his own eyes.
"This is the best way to learn history!"
Ian marveled, in his vision, it was as if there were countless huge TV screens suspended in the air, and wherever his gaze touched, the images became clear quickly.
There was smoke and fire on battlefields, the scorching sun high above, Roman legion soldiers in heavy armor, wielding long spears and shields, their orderly steps shaking the earth as they shouted in unison. Emperor Caesar stood at the center of the Senate, holding a scepter, his eyes sharp. The senators whispered, plots and loyalties interwoven in the air.
"Even with betrayal omnipresent, Rome's glory shall endure."
Even the whispers of Emperor Caesar.
Ian could hear them clearly in this time passage. He witnessed the Roman Legion under Emperor Caesar's leadership, crossing the majestic Alps. The silver eagle emblem shone in the sunlight, the sound of war drums deafening, soldiers' armor reflecting dazzling light in the sun.